Marksman on Target, Shot Store Hostage by Mistake

The sheriff’s sharpshooter who fired the fatal round that killed hostage Hugh Skinner during Monday’s 13 1/2-hour siege of a Beverly Hills jewelry store hit his intended target, mistaking the store manager for the gunman, Sheriff Sherman Block said today.

“It was not an accidental shooting,” Block said at a morning press conference. “The person who was shot was, in fact, the person he had fired at. . . . It was a tragic end, a mistake.”

Deputy George Johnson, 42, a veteran marksman, fired a single shot from his rooftop perch about 100 yards from the scene after a spotter next to him reported, “He has a gun; he’s going to shoot,” Block said.

Two Others Wounded

Skinner, 60, the manager of the Van Cleef & Arpels store, was one of three hostages killed during the bloody siege. The bodies of two other employees were found inside the store, slain execution-style. Two other hostages were wounded in the final moments.

Suspect Steven Livaditis, 22, was feigning death when he was arrested immediately after the shooting. A loaded handgun was hidden beneath his body, Block said.

The sheriff said “the combination of circumstances” led the marksman and spotter to believe the store manager was their target.

Livaditis, with three hostages, attempted to slip out a side entrance of the building shortly after indicating to authorities that he was planning to remain inside the Rodeo Drive store throughout the night.

Taking authorities by surprise, Livaditis instead made his escape attempt about 11:30 p.m.

Covered Up

Block said the gunman and the hostages were covered by a dark cloth as they exited the store. He said deputies stationed outside could see the legs of three men and a woman underneath. Two of the men were wearing dark pants and the third gray pants. It was reported that Livaditis had been wearing a gray suit when he entered the store, posing as a customer, shortly after 10 a.m. Monday.

Two deputies lobbed “flash-bang” grenades at the quartet to divert them, Block said, and one of the four separated himself.

Block said that man, wearing gray pants, fell to the ground, then raised himself into a sitting position and extended his arm forward.

It was at that moment, Block said, that the spotter issued his warning about the possibility of a gun. Johnson fired, hitting Skinner in the chest.

“It was a clear shot,” he said. He said deputies used night telescope sights and had a clear view of the scene.

Tied Together

Deputies rushed forward to find three others tightly bound together underneath the blanket. Livaditis was prone on the ground, with his gun beneath him. In order to separate him from the two surviving hostages, deputies had to cut their bindings. Skinner apparently had not been bound to the others.

The spotter later told investigators he saw a shiny object when Skinner raised his hand, Block said.

“Whether it was light reflected, who knows?” the sheriff said. “A ring, a watch. . . . He had car keys.”

Block speculated that Skinner was not bound to the other three because he was to drive the getaway car. Livaditis and his captives were headed toward a nearby parking lot.

Block said the marksman has the ultimate authority in such situations on whether to shoot. He said Johnson, like others involved in fatal shootings, will be off field duty for the next five days and will undergo psychological counseling.